Happy Anniversary?
by inner thoughts
Summary: Lee and Amanda try to celebrate their anniversary but someone is determined to destroy them first.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** _Scarecrow and Mrs. King_ and its characters are property of Warner Bros. and Shoot the Moon Productions. No copyright infringement is intended.

The story, however is mine! :)

**Time:** Post Season 4- a few days after "A Day in the Life of Lee Stetson"

**References made to the following episodes: Season 4, Episode 1, "Stemwinder" and Season 4, Episode 16, "Do You Take This Spy?"**

Lee and Amanda clinked glasses across the candle lit table. The evening was off to a perfect start. At the last minute, Amanda was able to get them into the latest to die for restaurant in DC- the Pavone Ballante. It wasn't the stereotypical Italian restaurant with the red and white checkerboard table cloths and the drippy candles stuck in an empty wine bottle. The atmosphere here was much more intimate and sophisticated. The décor was adorned with deep, almost iridescent blues and greens with touches of gold here and there. There was soft music playing in the background and soft lighting accented with candles on tables and beautifully placed throughout the room made for a very romantic setting.

"Amanda, how did you manage to get us in here so last minute? They are booked weeks in advance!" Lee asked as he took Amanda's hand and held it from across the table.

"Oh, you should know by now that I have my ways!" Amanda smiled and winked at Lee as she squeezed his hand gently. "Happy Anniversary, Sweetheart!"

"Happy Anniversary, Amanda!" Lee leaned into the table as he brought Amanda's hand to his lips and softly kissed it.

"Two years sure has flown by, hasn't it?"

Lee blew out a sigh as he raised his eyebrows. "It sure has! Hard to believe that 2 years ago today we were dealing with Nick Grant and running to the justice of peace for a secret ceremony. I'm so glad we're not trying to hide our marriage anymore."

Amanda let out a chuckle. "You and me both! We were both kind of silly to think that we could have kept up the secrecy for very long."

Lee smiled in agreement and rubbed his thumb ever so gently over the back on Amanda's hand.

"Pardon me." Lee and Amanda both stopped their conversation and turned their attention to the brunette waitress at their table. "So sorry to interrupt but the owner would like you to have this flower in honor of your anniversary." She handed the red rose to Amanda.

"Oh, well thank you! Thank you very much!" Amanda smiled at the waitress and inhaled the sweet smell of the rose. "Lee, isn't that sweet? Such a beautiful long stemmed rose."

"Yes! That was very nice of them, indeed. Is that how you got us in? Told them it was our anniversary?"

Lee picked up his glass of Beaujolais and took a sip as he took another look at their waitress across the room.

"Haha! Nope and I doubt that would have worked anyway. I'm not sure that I did mention that it was our anniversary but I must have because how would they have known?"

"Amanda? Does our waitress look familiar to you?"

"hmmm….no, I don't think she did."

"Are you sure? I swear I have seen her before?"

Amanda casually glanced over at their waitress. She was attractive with shoulder length brown hair and pretty green eyes and a beautiful smile.

"I'm sorry, Lee but she doesn't look familiar to me. Maybe she's one of your old girlfriends. There were so many, you can't possible remember them all!"

Lee looked at Amanda with a certain amount of shock on his face. Amanda began to laugh.

"Amanda! That's not funny! And she is NOT an old girlfriend. It's not important. Let's just enjoy our evening!"

"I'm just teasing you, Sweetheart! I love you very much! And I have never been happier in my life than I have been with you."

Lee smiled that killer, dimpled smile of his. Amanda swore that he blushed a little but it was hard to tell in the dim lighting.

"I never ever thought that happiness like this existed, Amanda. I can't imagine my life without you. I love you just doesn't seem like enough to say to let you know how I feel about you."

Amanda smiled and felt a lump rise in her throat as her eyes teared up.

"I can't believe I waited so long to tell you that I loved you, Amanda."

"Well, we were both scared, Lee. But, what I can't believe is that you told me you loved me as you were getting ready to run out of my life!"

"A-man-daa! You know it wasn't like that! I was running FOR my life…..and honestly, I wasn't sure if I was going to make it and…well I couldn't die without you knowing."

"I knew. At least I was pretty sure I knew, but it was sure the most amazing feeling when I finally heard you say it and when I could say it to you."

"Hey…yeah, that's right! You took your own sweet time telling me you loved me, too!"

"And look at us now! Old married couple with two rapidly growing boys and a baby on the way! Our lives are going to be completely different next year at this time."

Amanda sat back and ran her hands over her pregnant belly. Lee smiled as he thought to himself how beautiful she looked tonight illuminated by the soft glow of the candles on the table.

"Your salads?" The waitress had returned. Amanda studied her closer and did not see anything recognizable about her.

"Thank you", Amanda replied.

Lee was positive that he knew her from somewhere. It was on the tip of his tongue. He wracked is brain to try and come up with her name and where he knew her from. Without meaning to, he found himself staring at the waitress.

"Is there something else I can get for you, sir?"

Embarrassed, Lee quickly snapped back to.

"Oh umm….could I please have some more water?"

"Certainly, sir!"

The waitress returned in a matter of seconds with a pitcher and refilled their glasses.

"Will there be anything else?"

"No, thank you. We're all set." Amanda replied as she picked up her glass to take a sip of water. "Lee? You're still trying to figure out where you know her from, aren't you?"

"Yeah….It's…..It's right there in the front of my brain but I can't access it! I can feel it! I feel a little foggy tonight."

"It will come to you when you're not trying so hard to remember." Amanda placed her glass down on the table. "Isn't the stemware in the restaurant just beautiful?"

"Huh?" Lee said as he tried to concentrate on what Amanda was saying to him.

"The water glasses? Aren't they beautiful? I just love the way that the details in the crystal wind around the glass. Lovely!"

Lee had picked up his fork in preparation for eating his salad but got distracted by the waitress once again. She noticed him looking at her and gave him a quasi-seductive smile.

"You know, Lee. It's not very nice to be checking out another woman while you are out with your wife to celebrate your anniversary! I am going to get jealous here in a minute!"

"I'm sorry. I really am sorry Amanda. I'll stop. It's not important where I know her from. No need to be jealous-I only have eyes for you!"

"You'd better!"

The two were enjoying their salads and conversation. It was so rare that they were actually able to make plans and follow through on them without getting interrupted by agency business or an issue with the family.

"So, Lee…we need to start planning for the baby soon."

"I thought we were already doing that!"

"You know what I mean! Things like where we're going to put the baby, and names for the baby and probably about a million other things."

Lee held his breath for a moment while Amanda continued to jabber on about the many things they were going to need to buy for the baby. He exhaled sharply and interrupted her.

"Amanda! Amanda! Slow down! We have plenty of time to figure all this out, don't we? I mean the baby isn't due until June."

"I know Lee, but I just need to be sure that we are on the same frequency."

"The same _frequency_?"

"You know what I mean…that we have the same ideas about things."

"I know what it means, that just struck me as funny, that's all."

The waitress returned to clear the salad plates and deliver their entrees. Lee did his best to pay her no mind and focus on Amanda. She placed the Amanda's dinner carefully in front of her and smiled. As she placed Lee's plate in front of him, she subtly squeezed his thigh with her free hand and walked away. Amanda was inspecting her dinner and didn't notice. Lee's eyes almost bugged out of his head and the words caught in his throat.

"Lee! What's the matter? Are you ok?"

"Did you see that?"

"What? See what?"

"The waitress! She squeezed my thigh as she served me my dinner!"

"She what? Oh come on!"

"Amanda, I'm telling you that she did."

"Well it's probably because you have been staring at her all night!"

"I haven't been staring at her like that, Amanda!"

"Well I know that, Lee but all she knows is that you've been staring at her! You brought this on yourself!"

"Thanks! Thanks a lot!"

Amanda chuckled to herself as she picked through her dinner.

"How is your food? You don't seem to be eating much, Amanda. Are you feeling ok?"

"Me? Oh I am feeling fine. It's just this chicken marsala…the mushrooms are all stems."

"Stems?"

"Yes…no caps. All stems."

"Do you want to send it back?"

"No it's fine. I'm just surprised that a restaurant like this would only use the mushroom stems, that's all. It's not like this is a hard recipe to make. It's as easy as falling into bed!"

Lee laughed as he looked at Amanda with a confused look on his face.

"Easy as what?"

"What?"

"What's in to you tonight, Amanda? You don't seem yourself."

"Not myself? I feel fine, Sweetheart. You're the one flirting with the waitress on our anniversary!"

"I AM NOT", Lee quickly lowered his volume, "I am NOT flirting with her! And you know it!"

Lee sat back in his chair and swallowed hard. He reached out with a shaky hand and grabbed for his water.

"Lee? Are you ok?"

"I don't know. I suddenly got shaky and really hot. Is it hot in here?"

"No, it's not. Drink some more water."

Amanda got up from her chair and knelt down beside Lee. She dabbed her napkin in her water and began to dab his forehead.

"Lee, your heart is racing! We need to get you out of here!"

"Just give me a minute."

"You need some vodka….very cold vodka."

"Amanda…..what the hell are you talking about? Vodka?"

"Ssshhhh! Sweetheart, it's ok. Here, let's roll up your sleeve."

Amanda rolled up Lee's sleeve and ran an ice cube over his upper arm.

"That feels good. OUCH! AMANDA! Why did you pinch me? That really hurt!"

"It's ok, Lee…..you should start to feel better now. Just give it time to work."

"Give what time to work?"

The balding man sat beside a passed out Lee lying on a bed and checked his pulse and breathing.

"Well?" the brunette woman asked. "Is he back under?"

"Yes. He is. That was close. He was almost ready to wake up. But, the amount I just gave him in the shot in his arm should last a while. You can continue with your mind games on him."

"Good. So far, he is listening to everything I have to say to him and playing along nicely. I hope Lee Stetson is enjoying the anniversary dinner I have created for him in his mind."

"He seems to be enjoying himself so far. His mind is not going to be an easy one to crack. This new drug is powerful but not undefeatable."

"I am well aware of that, Dr. I don't need reminding! I just need you to keep him under the influence of this drug long enough for me to get all the information I need. Then, I don't care what you do with him."

Lee struggled within his own mind. The drugs were keeping him from waking up, but somewhere deep inside, he knew he was in big trouble.

To be continued…..


	2. Chapter 2

"Well, Francine? Please tell me you have _something_!" Billy said as he paced back and forth in Lee's office, his former office.

"Billy, we're looking as fast as we can but there is simply NO trace of Scarecrow. I don't know what to tell you."

"Well we have got to find him, damn it! He's been missing for the last 48hours with no ransom request, no one bragging that they have captured the American agent, Scarecrow. I don't think I have to go into all the other scenarios that we will be discussing if another 24 hours goes by with no word from or about Lee."

Billy's voice got more and more agitated with every syllable. The fear of Lee's fate was starting to mount inside but Billy wouldn't let it take over. He had to keep moving. If he stopped, he would start to think of the possibility that Lee was dead and that was something that he simply couldn't face.

"No, Billy, you don't need to fill me in on the what-ifs. I am all too familiar and don't think I haven't been thinking of them, too."

"Well then GET GOING, Francine! There has got to be some stone we have yet to overturn to find him. Let's start again at the beginning. Where was he last seen?"

There was a gentle knock on the door that preceded Amanda's entrance into the office. She looked exhausted and frazzled. It was obvious to Francine that Amanda had been crying. The average person might not have been able to tell, but there wasn't a lot about reapplied mascara that Francine didn't know about.

"Francine? Sir? Any word yet?"

As Billy looked at Amanda, he could feel his heart breaking for her. He let out a heavy sigh.

"I'm afraid not. We were just about to start at the beginning again and see what we could come up with."

Amanda's brave face began to show signs of weakening. She inhaled sharply at the bad news and attempted to regain her composure.

"OK, Sir. Where do we begin?"

Francine looked at Billy. The unspoken words between them said the same thing. Amanda needed some rest. She hadn't slept for at least 36 hours. Her face showed how drained she was both physically and emotionally.

"Uh, Amanda, why don't you let me and Billy handle this for now and you go home and get some rest? You're not going to do anyone any good if you make yourself sick. Besides, Lee will kill me if I let anything happen to you or the baby while he is gone!"

"Yes, Amanda. Please go home and rest. We will call you the minute we come up with anything. Besides, whoever has Lee may try to contact you at home and you need to be there to take the call."

"But, Sir?"

"Please, Amanda….."

Amanda looked dejected and defeated. She was trying so hard to be strong. She was exhausted and scared. Francine sensed that Amanda was on the verge of breaking down.

"Tell you what, Manda? I will have Beaman drive you home. You shouldn't be driving in your condition, especially not this late at night. "

Amanda looked at Billy and Francine. The search for Lee was taking its toll on them, too. Amanda could read the fear written on their faces despite their best attempts to hide it. As much as she didn't want to leave, she knew that if she didn't get some rest soon, her body was going to shut down and make her get some rest, and she didn't want to jeopardize the health of the baby. She looked down at her belly and ran her hand over the ever-expanding bump. Slowly she raised her head and nodded to Francine. Francine breathed a sigh of relief and gave Amanda a weak smile.

"Why don't you have a seat over on the couch until Beaman gets here?"

"That's ok, Sir. I want to grab some things from my office. Can you please have him meet me in there?"

Billy grabbed Amanda's hand and offered it a light squeeze of reassurance.

"Sure, Amanda. No problem."

Amanda returned the gesture to Billy and then turned to exit the office through the adjoining door between her and Lee's office. Her normally pristinely clean desk had file folders and papers strewn about. The same files and papers that had been sitting there since she first found out Lee was missing two days ago. She sat in her desk chair and straightened up a bit while she waited for Beaman. She couldn't bring herself to think about how long he had been missing with no word what so ever. She hoped he was still in Washington, but the truth was that he could be anywhere in the world by now…..or worse. Amanda was startled as Beaman wrapped lightly on her office window to let her know he was ready to drive her home. She nodded and held up her index finger indicating that she would be right there. Grabbing her purse and keys, she went to click off the light and noticed her calendar was now two days behind. She ripped on the paper to reveal the correct date. A sudden gasp escaped her lips when she realized the date.

"Happy Anniversary, Lee….where ever you are." She whispered as she choked back tears.

**SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK**

"Feeling better, Sweetheart?"

"Yeah, that was really weird. I got really shaky and dizzy there for a minute but I'm much better now."

Lee continued to sit back in his chair and sip his glass of water. He rubbed his bicep as he looked at Amanda sitting across the table from him.

"You know that really hurt when you pinched me! I can still feel it!"

"Oh, Lee! Don't be such a baby! It was only a little pinch."

"Well it felt like a needle prick and you know how much I love needles!"

"Maybe you could get your girlfriend, the waitress to come over and kiss it to make it feel better!"

Amanda gave Lee a sly sexy grin as she sipped her tea.

"Ha-Ha. Very funny."

"So….how are those agents doing that you sent over to Germany?"

"Oh A-man-da! We promised! NO shop talk tonight! It's our anniversary and I don't want to talk about anything that has to do with the agency."

Amanda put her cup down firmly on the table.

"Ok…what ever you want. I just thought that since we don't get to see each other much at the office these days that we could catch up a little bit, but if that is what you want, we won't talk about it."

Lee looked at Amanda with a very puzzled look on his face. There was something different about her tonight but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Are you sure you're ok, Amanda?"

"What do you mean? I'm fine. I am out with my husband celebrating our anniversary in this very lovely restaurant. What could be wrong?"

"I'm not sure….but…..never mind. So, tell me what names you have thought of for the baby? I guess you're right and we should start thinking about names."

Amanda gave a light laugh.

"Well, I have always liked the name Lois."

"Lois? Didn't you tell me that you had a doll named Lois when you were little?"

"Yes! Lois Ann!"

"You want to name our daughter after your _doll?_"

"What's wrong with that?"

"Uh…let's see if we can't come up with something else! How about Cynthia? Cynthia Stetson…has a good ring to it!"

"Will we call her Cindy for short?"

"Yeah. Cindy Stetson."

"And will we spell that with a Y or an I?" Amanda said teasingly ribbing Lee about his ex girlfriend that spelled her name with an I. Amanda thought that was so tacky. Lee shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

"Ok, so no Cynthia. How about…"

"Let me just stop you there. We are not naming our daughter using the same name of any of your former…..acquaintances, so that ought to narrow the list right down!"

Lee cocked his head to one side and looked at Amanda with a bit of disgust.

"OK… OK. Maybe we should talk about boys names!"

"OK…I can do that."

"And," Lee interjected, "We won't be naming our son after any of YOUR former…..acquaintances. So no Dan!"

"Dean! Dan would actually be fine because I never dated a Dan."

"No! No Dan. Makes me think of Dean even if that isn't his name."

Amanda wrinkled her nose up at Lee as she let out a sigh of distaste.

"Fine…no Dean OR Dan. What about Christopher?"

"No…I was in training at Station One with a Christopher who was the biggest jerk I ever met in my life. I can't hear the name without thinking about him. How about Benjamin?"

"That's not bad…Benjamin…Ben….not bad, but I don't love it."

"May I clear your plates?" the brunette waitress asked as she stood uncomfortably close to Lee.

"Yes, please." Amanda answered placing her fork and knife on the plate. Lee followed suit and tried desperately once again to place where he knew the waitress from. There was no longer any doubt in his mind. He DID know this woman but he couldn't remember HOW he knew her. He was so close to getting his answer. Amanda noticed Lee staring at her once again.

"Excuse me, Miss? My husband and I have been trying to figure out if we know you or not. You look so familiar to us. Is it possible we have met before?"

The woman was somewhat taken aback. "No, I don't think so. I only just moved back here a few weeks ago. I haven't had much of an opportunity to meet many people with trying to find a job and all the details of moving."

Amanda looked at Lee with a look that said, "See, I told you so!"

"Well, thank you very much! I guess you just have one of those faces!"

"Guess so. Would you care for any coffee, dessert or after dinner drink?"

"Oh yes that would be wonderful! Don't you think so, Lee?"

Lee looked at Amanda and was a bit confused. They had talked about going elsewhere for dessert and coffee.

"I thought we…"

"Why don't we get a tiramisu to split and how about some champagne?"

"Champagne? Amanda? You can't have any champagne!"

"Oh come one Lee, what's one little toast going to hurt?"

Lee looked up at the green-eyed waitress. "Could you give us a minute, please?"

The waitress left and said she would be back in a few minutes.

"Amanda! What is wrong with you? You want champagne? You won't have even so much as a second cup of coffee while you are pregnant and now you want champagne?"

"Calm down, Lee. I'm fine. Just felt like celebrating is all."

Lee studied Amanda's face looking for a sign of something to confirm what his gut was telling him. Amanda picked up the rose and began winding the ribbon that acted as the napkin ring around the rose's long stem. She would wind it and unwind it, round and round the stem. Her expression was vacant yet had a hint of deviousness behind it.

"Amanda, what are you doing? What is the matter?"

Suddenly the room got deafeningly quiet. Lee looked around to discover that they were now the only two people in the room. Everyone else had disappeared. Lee immediately stood from his chair and reached for his weapon only to find he didn't have it. Amanda seemed unfazed by the sudden vacating of the dining room. A gentleman soon approached Lee. He was well dressed in an expensive dark blue suit and tie.

"Sir, is there a problem?"

"You're damn right there's a problem! What the hell is going on here?"

"I am sure I don't know what you mean. Have you not had a good experience here at Pallone Ballante?"

"What?"

"Have you not had a good experience here at Pallone Ballante? The Dancing Peacock?"

To be continued….


	3. Chapter 3

Beaman poked his head in Amanda's office and told her that he would meet her in the Georgetown Lobby. Amanda acknowledged his statement and finished getting ready to leave.

"_Lee, where are you? Haven't we been through enough in the last few months? Coming out of the field was supposed to make our lives easier but I swear it has made things harder."_ Amanda slowly put on her coat and grabbed her purse as she continued the conversation with herself. "_We were supposed to be in Italy by now….Yes….I did know that you were planning a surprise trip for me. Jamie let it slip by accident and I saw the duty roster on Francine's desk when I was bringing some files up to her office. I don't even care that we're not there…..I just wish you were here with me, safe and accounted for. Where could you be?"_ Amanda pushed the button and waited impatiently for the elevator.

"Hello, Amanda."

Amanda jumped at the sound of her name.

"Agent Corey! You startled me! What are you doing here so late at night? I didn't think the records department stayed open this late."

"We don't! At least not all the time. We found a big section this afternoon that was horribly misfiled and I wanted to get it fixed before leaving for the night."

"And you're still here?"

"Yup…I'm still here. What are _you_ doing here so late? Would have thought that you and Scarecrow would have left long ago."

Amanda had to be careful how to answer this question. Not many knew that Lee was missing and since they didn't know who had him, the details surrounding his disappearance needed to be kept quiet. Panic could easily begin to set in through the agency if they knew he was missing and that was something they all wanted to avoid.

"Oh, well…you know us! Always burning the midnight oil. But it's way past my bedtime. I'm headed home now."

"Do you want me to walk you to your car?"

"Oh, no….that's fine. I already have a ride waiting for me."

Agent Corey gently grabbed Amanda by the arm.

"Are you sure? It would be no trouble at all. You shouldn't be walking out alone at night. Let me walk you."

Amanda felt uncomfortable by his gesture. She didn't want to offend him but she also really wanted him to stop touching her. She was about to say something when the elevator door opened revealing Beaman.

"Amanda! I was just coming to get you. It didn't take me long to do what I needed to do so I thought I would come get you rather than meet you in the lobby."

"No problem, Efraim."

Corey released Amanda's arm and gave Beaman a half-hearted smile and a wave.

"Well, I guess I am all set now. Thank you very much, Agent Corey. Have a good night."

"Good night, Amanda…Beaman."

Amanda stepped onto the elevator anxious to get home.

**SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK**

Lee was very confused as to what was transpiring in the restaurant. Why had all the people left and why did he not see them go? Why didn't Amanda seem to notice or care? She was definitely not herself this evening. There was a certain air to her that was somewhat indescribable. It wasn't one thing that she was doing or not doing, it was more the overall picture and presentation. Lee wondered if perhaps she had been drugged.

"_Could that be the reason that we were able to get a table at the last minute to this place? Did they want us here so that they could drug Amanda? Did they drug me, too? Why am I the only one that seems to think there is anything out of the ordinary going on here?"_

Lee thought it best to try and play along and to not alarm Amanda. If she was indeed drugged or something equally as bad, he didn't want to spook or upset her. Lee looked at the Maître'D standing before him and wondered if he was privy to the plot that was unfolding before him.

"I'm sorry. What did you just ask me?" Lee said as he tried to focus on the host.

"Sir, I asked if there was anything I could do for you. You seem upset about something."

Lee played along as to not bring any unwanted attention to him or to Amanda. He needed to get out of here quickly but without a scene.

"No, no I'm fine. I think I am coming down with something. I wasn't feeling well earlier."

"Then please allow me to help you to your table."

"Oh that won't be necessary. I am fine."

Lee walked back over and sat down at their table, the Maître' D closely following behind.

"Lee!", Amanda said in very hushed tones. "What is the matter with you tonight?"

"What? What's the matter with me? Amanda, something is going on here and I think that we are in trouble. We've gotta get out of here and quick!"

"Don't be ridiculous! We are finally able to get out of the house by ourselves and are celebrating our Anniversary! We're not leaving yet!"

Amanda began to get very agitated Lee thought it would be best if he backed off. Why was she getting so upset? Why was she determined to stay? Lee scanned the room to look for a way out. All he saw was the waitress and the Maître'D huddled in an intense conversation. Yup…they were definitely in trouble.

"Lee, what is it that has you so upset tonight? Is it work? Why don't you just tell me what's going on at work and what is bothering you? Is it the agents in Germany?"

Lee stared at Amanda. He had indeed dispatched some agents to Germany but hadn't really discussed it much with her. Their departure was very hush-hush. Only he and Billy knew the specifics. This was the second time she brought them up tonight, but why?

"You're pushing too hard! Amanda Stetson is much more subtle than that. You are going to tip him off and then you'll never get the information that you are after!" The doctor chastised the brunette woman hovering over Lee, grilling him with questions. She then quickly stood and was eye to eye with the doctor.

"Don't YOU tell me how to run an interrogation! Especially not one that involves Lee Stetson. I have done nothing but study him for the last 2-years. I KNOW how to crack him and where his weaknesses are."

"I'm not saying that you don't! But I am saying that if you are hoping to have him think that you are Amanda Stetson, then you are GOING ABOUT IT ALL WRONG!"

She looked at Lee lying on the bed, his body jerking like he was having a bad dream. Perhaps the doctor was right; maybe she needed to back off a bit.

"Keep him under! I need a break!" she shouted as she stormed out of the room.

**SMK SMK SMK SMK SK SMK SMK SMK **

Amanda and Beaman walked past Lee's silver corvette that was still parked in the parking garage where he left it 48-hours ago. Amanda tried to pretend it wasn't there and stared straight ahead and walked as quickly as she could to Beaman's car. The two drove to Maplewood Drive in virtual silence. Amanda was so tired and emotionally drained; she had nothing to say.

"Thanks for the ride home."

"No problem, Amanda. Want me to walk you inside?"

"Oh, thank you but that won't be necessary."

Amanda turned to get out of the car when she felt Beaman's hand on her arm. She turned to look at him.

"Amanda…..I know that you are scared and worried. We all are, but Scarecrow is the best agent there is. We'll find him."

Amanda smiled weakly at Beaman. "I know we will."

She got out of the car and walked into the house via the kitchen door. The house was quiet and dark. The only light on was the small table lamp in the family room. Amanda closed and locked the door and placed her keys and purse on the kitchen table. This was the first time she had been home since she left for work yesterday afternoon. She had a check up for the baby that morning and was excited to show Lee the new ultrasound pictures that she received of the little one. Unfortunately, by the time she made it to work, Lee was already missing. Amanda sat down on the couch and began to sob. This was the first time she had let herself breakdown. She usually was able to hold it together much better but the lack of sleep was taking its toll. The more she tried to tell herself that everything would be ok, the harder she cried.

Dotty heard her daughter crying and rushed to be at her side. She quickly came down the stairs, tying her robe as she went. She clicked on the light to the family room and saw Amanda with her face in her hands, crying on the couch.

"Amanda! Darling! What is it?"

Dotty wrapped her arms around Amanda and tried to comfort her. Amanda didn't answer and continued to latch onto her mother and weep.

"Amanda? Amanda, did something happen? Did they find Lee?"

Amanda took a deep breath and attempted to pull herself together. She put her head on her mother's shoulder answered her questions.

"No, Mother. No sign of him yet. None what so ever. "

Dotty rubbed Amanda's back as she listened to her speak.

"No one has made any ransom calls, no one has been bragging that they have him. There is absolutely no sign of him what so ever. It's like he just disappeared!"

"You'll find him, Amanda! I know you will. He's strong and I just know that he is ok."

"What if he's not?"

Dotty pulled apart from Amanda and held her by the shoulders.

"Now you listen to me, Amanda! You need to remain positive. You and Lee have been in some pretty terrible situations these last 5 almost 6 years and you have gotten out of all of them. Most of them, uninjured! And those are just the ones that I know about!"

Amanda looked into her mother's caring face. Dotty's expression was determined yet comforting to Amanda. She could always count on Dotty to pick her up when she was down and help her to refocus when she was lost.

"I hope you're right, Mother. I just don't know what to do with myself right now. It's the not knowing that has been the hardest. If someone had asked for us to pay to get him back or bragged about having him, we could find him. But this time…Mother I don't even know if he's still in the country or even if he's still….."

Amanda's voice trailed off. She couldn't bring herself to say it. She was mad at herself for even considering the idea what he might be dead.

"Amanda! You just stop thinking like that! They'll find Lee and he will be just fine! You'll see. Meanwhile, when is the last time you slept? You look like you are going to drop right here."

"It's been a while mother. That's why I came home so I could get some rest."

"Well let's get you upstairs right now and get you into bed. Come on."

Dotty helped Amanda off the couch and walked her up to her room. Amanda went into the bathroom and changed. Dotty tucked Amanda into bed and sat down on the bed next to her daughter.

"Thank you for always being there for me, Mother. How are the boys?"

Dotty slowly brushed the hair off of Amanda's face. She could tell that Amanda was struggling to keep her eyes open. Dotty kept stroking Amanda's hair hoping that she would fall asleep.

"The boys are just fine, Amanda. Don't even worry about them. You just get some sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

"You'll wake me if anyone calls and if there's any news about Lee?" Amanda's eyes were finally closing.

"Absolutely, Darling. Now get some sleep."

Amanda didn't reply. She was finally asleep. Dotty carefully stood up and crept out of Amanda's room. She brushed the tears that were now forming out of her eyes. She would never let Amanda see it, but she was worried about Lee, too.

"Oh, Lee….where are you?" She said quietly to herself as she closed the door to Amanda's bedroom.

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Lee looked at an agitated Amanda sitting across the table from him. He needed to get them out of this restaurant as soon as possible but Amanda was fighting him every step of the way.

"Amanda, we can talk about work stuff but I just want to get out of here. OK?"

Amanda's demeanor and expression almost instantaneously changed from agitation to serine.

"Of course, Sweetheart. Why didn't you say so?"

"Why didn't I say so? I HAVE been saying so! A-man-da, what…"

Lee caught himself before he said something to get her worked up again. She agreed to leave and that was the most important thing.

"Never mind, let me go get our coats and we can go, OK?"

"OK, Lee. I am going to go visit the powder room and I will meet you by the coat check."

Amanda got up and walked towards the bathrooms. Lee quickly threw some cash down on the table and went to the coat check.

"Lee! Lee over here!" Lee heard in a hushed but intense whisper. He turned to see T.P. waving to him from the coat check. Lee rushed over to T.P.

"What the hell are you doing here? What's going on?"

T.P. wasn't dressed in his normal sweater vest. He was instead dressed in a tux and was acting as the coat check clerk.

"Lee, my boy….things aren't safe here. You need to get out of here as soon as possible. You are in danger!"

"I knew it! Things have been fishy all night long. Even Amanda. Have they drugged her?"

"Oh, I assure you, Lee that you are the one that is in danger here, not Amanda. You would do well to leave her here and get out while you can!"

"What's the matter with you? I'm not leaving Amanda here! If I am in danger then so is she. Who's after me?"

"Don't you know, Lee? You haven't figured it out by now? There are clues all around you. Think!"

"T.P.! I don't have time for games! Just tell me!"

"Oh, I'm afraid I can't. You need to come to the answer on your own."

"Then why the hell are you here if you're not going to tell me what's going on?"

"I'm not really here, Lee. And neither are you. You were kidnapped, remember?"

"I was what?"

"Lee? Do you ever remember hearing about this restaurant before today? DO you remember driving here? Was this how you and Amanda had planned on spending your anniversary? Weren't you going to Italy?"

"How did you know about Italy? The only people that knew were Amanda's family and Francine."

"Lee! You were kidnapped! Your not really here in this restaurant! I only know about the trip because this is all happening inside your head. Look at the clues!"

"What are these damned clues you're talking about?"

Lee slammed his fist down on the counter top knocking over the tip jar and sending coins spilling. T.P. quickly picked up the coins and began placing them back in the jar as he nervously looked around to see if Lee's temper had caught the attention of anyone else in the restaurant.

"Lee, the clues!" T.P. said in a nervous hushed tone as he leaned in closer to Lee. "Doesn't the waitress look familiar?"

"Yes! Yes she does! Who is she?" Lee was desperate to know.

"Amanda's behavior and sudden change of vocabulary this evening such as 'falling into bed' and frequency?"

"Yes, but how..?"

"Lee….even the name of the restaurant is screaming at you!"

T.P. was becoming more and more nervous. Beads of sweat began to form on his forehead. Lee grabbed a book of matches from the table: Pavone Ballante.

"What the hell does the name have to do with anything? Pavone Ballante?"

"In English, Lee! IN English!"

"The Dancing Peacock?"

Lee looked at T.P. and noticed he was nervously dancing a coin back and forth over the back of his hand. He knew this trick…..who had done this before? Lee clenched his jaw together and rubbed his temples.

"Lee! Hurry Lee! Here they come! The name! It's in the restaurant's name!"

He recited "The Dancing Peacock" over and over in his mind. _"What the hell does this mean? Dancing Peacock? Dancing Peacock? What is T.P. trying to tell me? Peacock…Peacock Dancing…..PEACOCK DANCE! The Peacock Dance! Stemwinder! Sonja Chenkko! The waitress was Sonja Chenkko!"_

To Be Continued…


	4. Chapter 4

"Well, Francine? What have we got?"

"What we've got, Billy is a big fat nothing! There is just no sign of him!"

"Don't tell me that, Francine! There has GOT to be something that we've missed. This is LEE we're talking about here! He had to have left us some kind of trace. Some clue?"

"We have gone over everything we can possibly imagine with a fine toothed comb and I am telling you, it's like he just vanished into thin air."

"DAMN IT, FRANCINE! That's just not good enough!"

Beaman knocked on the door to Lee's office, which was now being used as the search committee's headquarters.

"Come!" Billy shouted.

Beaman entered cautiously as he had heard Billy yelling as he approached the office.

"Just thought that you would like to know that I got Amanda home safely."

Francine looked up from her stack of papers and gave him a tired smile. "Thanks, Beaman."

"No problem. Any luck?"

Francine let out a heavy, frustrated sigh. "Absolutely none!"

"What can I do to help?"

Billy looked up at Beaman. "I'm not even sure at this point. It seems that we have explored every possible avenue and there is just no sign of Lee."

"Why don't you tell me what you DO have and maybe a fresh set of eyes can find something that you missed?"

Francine looked at Billy, ready to defend the thorough job she had done in looking for Lee, but then she thought better of it. There was obviously something that they were missing. No one just vanishes.

"OK, Beaman. Have a seat and I'll show you what we have."

Beaman sat in one of the chairs opposite Francine and began scanning the numerous papers that were strewn over Lee's desk.

"What we know so far is that Lee drove to the agency in his Corvette. Amanda was not with him. According to the agency tapes, he arrived at work at about 8:10am, parked and entered the building from the garage entrance. After that, we don't have him on any surveillance tapes. He entered the building and 'poof', he disappears."

"Does the security guard remember seeing him?"

"Yes, the guard waved him in, his badge was scanned but he never made it up here to his office. There were no outgoing calls that are unaccounted for. No one else, other than the security guard remembers seeing Lee that morning."

Beaman thought for a moment. Billy began pacing back and forth.

"And none of the tapes show him exiting the building at any time?"

"Nope"

"How about other people exiting with large boxes, luggage or crates?"

"No, nothing like that at all."

"Do you have a list of employees that were here at that time on that day?"

Francine searched through one of the piles on the desk and pulled out a piece of paper. She handed it to Beaman and instructed him to read it.

"Those are the names of everyone that was here at the time of Lee's arrival and for the next 3-hours"

"And you talked to them all?"

"Yes, I talked to them myself."

"Mind if I take a crack at talking to them again? Maybe one of them will remember something that they overlooked a few days ago."

"Be my guest."

"Thanks, Francine. I am going to take this list back to my desk and see if anything unusual comes up on any of these names. I doubt any of them are here at this hour."

Beaman walked out of the office, list in hand. Francine wished silently to herself that Beaman would see something that she missed.

"So what do we do now, Billy?"

"I wish I knew, Francine. I wish I knew."

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"Sonja Chenkko? T.P., what the hell is Sonja Chenkko doing here? She's supposed to be locked away in a prison somewhere!"

"I don't know the answer to that, Lee. My guess is nothing good."

"Damn it, where is Amanda? I told her to meet me here."

"Lee, that's not Amanda and you're not really 'here'. As I told you, this is all happening in your head. I suggest you get out of this…place, for lack of a better word, and get yourself to someplace of your design, not hers. Don't worry about Amanda, just go!"

Lee looked at T.P. as he clenched his jaw, sending his temple muscles dancing. He knew that T.P. was right but he wasn't quite ready to believe it. Part of him was, however relieved that if this wasn't real, Amanda wasn't in any immediate danger in this situation. Still, part of him worried what would happen if he was wrong and that was really Amanda. What would happen if he abandoned her in the restaurant? Lee heard voices approaching from the dining room. He turned to see Sonja and the Maître'D in a heated discussion with Amanda in tow. They were headed towards him. Lee's stomach turned over as he realized what he had to do. He needed to quickly leave and not take Amanda with him. He looked upon her on last time, turned and quickly exited through the front door.

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Amanda had a fitful night's sleep. She tossed and turned as the past two days' worth of angst and frustration played out in her dreams. She awoke feeling far from refreshed but better than the night before. As she sat up in bed, she could tell that her dreams had been stressful. The sheets and blankets were a rumpled mess. Amanda rubbed her eyes and glanced at the clock: 5:27am. She only got about 4 hours of sleep, but it was better than nothing. She was anxious to get back to the agency to see is there was any news on Lee. The not knowing was tearing her apart. She was going to find him today-come hell or high water.

**SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK **

"Walter! What's wrong with him? Why isn't he responding to any of my questions?"

The Dr. took Lee's vital signs. They were holding well. He was not in any physical danger, at least not for the moment.

"I'm not sure, Sonja. I told you that you were pushing him too hard. Perhaps he has retreated into his own mind. These agents are trained with all kinds of mind preserving tactics. It's hard to say if that is what's going on here or if the drug is turning his brain to mush."

Sonja began to get very angry and shoved the Dr. on his shoulder as she pointedly spoke to him.

"Well, I seem to recall that you are getting paid very handsomely to know these things, so I suggest you FIGURE IT OUT! We don't have much more time left to get the information we need out of him."

"And what information is that exactly?"

"THAT is NONE of your concern. You only need to worry about delivering the drug to Scarecrow and making sure he doesn't die before I'm ready for him to."

Walter looked at Sonja. He was beginning to become fearful for his safety. Her white-hot anger was written all over her face and was coursing through her body. She was so young to be so angry. He knew why she was in this business, or her 'family business' as she called it. He also knew why she hated Lee Stetson as much as she did. Her assignment during the Stemwinder case was to get close to him and get him to hand over the Stemwinder frequencies while her grandfather set Lee up and turned the agency against him. She did not, however count on one thing: actually developing feelings for Lee Stetson. She felt betrayed by him when he arrested her and extremely jealous once she heard that he had married his partner, Amanda King. Sonja paced pack and forth around the room as she tried to figure out what to do next. Her pacing came to rest beside Lee's bed where she saw him sleeping: a look of angst twisted his handsome features. Sonja took in a few deep breaths as she watched Lee sleeping. Slowly, she lifted her head and looked the Dr., her green eyes afire.

"Wake him up! There's been a change of plans!"

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Lee ran out of the restaurant and into his waiting car. He started the car and sped off down the road, not having any idea where he was going. It wasn't until he was a few miles away from the restaurant that he realized that he was not in his silver corvette but rather in his silver Porsche that had been destroyed all those years ago. Lee smiled for a moment as he realized that he was driving his long lost friend, running his hand over her dashboard and gripping the steering wheel with love.

"_Now I know that this is definitely happening in my head. What the hell is going on? I have to wake up. I've been drugged before and have never had such vivid experiences within my own mind. I wish I knew what they gave me and where the hell I am."_

Lee continued to drive down the abandoned streets desperately looking for something that was at all familiar. Around each corner, he hoped to find the answers to his questions. Instead, he found more twisting and turning roads.

"_Think, Scarecrow! What is the last thing that you remember before arriving at the Dancing Peacock? You had to have seen Sonja before they drugged you. Why else would you have incorporated her into your delusion?...The last thing I remember was parking in the garage at the agency and walking in through the lower level entrance. There's got to be more that happened after that."_

Lee tried to remember being transported, or drugged. He tried to remember every detail no matter how insignificant but nothing was coming to mind. He increased the speed of the Porsche and smirked as the car hugged each curve with precision. Suddenly, Lee began to feel uneasy. Beads of sweat began to form on his brow and he felt as if he needed to gasp for air. As he rounded the bend in the road, he was struck with a bright light in his face, blinding him from seeing the road and sending him over the cliff-like embankment.

Walter listened carefully to Lee's heart and monitored his pulse and breathing after he injected him with the second drug: the drug to wake him up. Lee's heart rate began to skyrocket and his pulse was very rapid. He gasped for air as he thrashed in his bed.

"What's the matter with him?" Sonja asked with a bit of panic to her voice.

"He's having a negative reaction to the Phantagorum. I told you when you insisted on using this drug that it hadn't been fully tested. I can't predict how each person will react and it looks like he is reacting very negatively."

"Well, do something!"

"There's nothing I CAN do. We just have to see how his body will continue to react after it adjusts to this drug." Walter took his vitals again. His pulse was slowing and his blood pressure was coming down. He gave Lee a bit of oxygen to help his breathing return to normal. The Dr. stood up from the bed and looked at Sonja. "You're lucky. I think he is going to live, but if we give him any more injections, I wouldn't be too confident that you will have the same outcome. He should be fully wake in another 5 minutes or so then he's all yours."

Walter left the room leaving Sonja alone with Lee. She sat on the edge of his bed and ran her hand gently over his cheek.

"You may not be all mine yet, Scarecrow, but you will be."

To be continued…..


	5. Chapter 5

Amanda virtually jumped out of bed and headed for the shower. She needed to get back to the agency to see if there was any news on the whereabouts of Lee. Something in this situation, other than Lee being missing, wasn't sitting right with her. There was something that was just out of place but she couldn't formulate the thought yet. It was nagging at her; she knew it was the answer to finding Lee, but what as it? She reached into the shower and turned on the water to let it get warm. As she undressed, she ran her hands over her belly, paying a little extra attention to the spot where she was being kicked. Lee had been over the moon when he first got to feel their child kick. Ever since then, he was grabbing and feeling her belly whenever she was near. Amanda had missed his touch over the last few days. As she stepped into the shower, she began to realize that they were now into day 3 of Lee being missing. Her eyes began to well up with tears. She quickly placed her face into the stream of warm running water and let the tears wash away. She vowed to herself that this would be the only time today that she would let herself break down. The rest of the day she needed to be strong for Lee. She began to think of all the times that Lee came to her rescue. She was always scared but always confident that Lee would be there to come and save her. Thankfully, she was never wrong. Now, it was her turn to rescue him. She just needed to find him first.

"_I know the answer is at the agency…I just need to find it!" _She said aloud to herself.

She quickly finished her shower and finished getting ready. It was about 6:15am when she headed downstairs. The rest of the house was still asleep. She began to scribble a note for Dotty and the boys before she left. It was then that she realized that her car was still at the agency. Amanda let out a heavy sigh. She reached for the phone to call the agency to have someone pick her up, but then changed her mind. She was afraid that it would take too long for someone to get there, so she called a cab. She finished writing the note and made a cup of tea. She sat at the kitchen table sipping her tea and looking out the window into her back yard. A melancholy smile began to spread across her face as she recollected the many, many times that Lee would come visit her in the backyard, popping up out of nowhere, scaring her half to death. "_I swear he used to do that to me on purpose!" _she mumbled and let out a soft chuckle as she took another sip of tea. Her mind then turned to one of her favorite visits from Lee in the backyard: the visit after the Stemwinder case was wrapped up. It was their first "normal" visit after being on the run. The first visit after they realized that they were in love. Amanda recalled Lee lightly tapping on the window as she cleared the dishes off of the table. Her heart skipped more than a beat or two at the sight of him. She wanted nothing more than to run to him at that very moment. Thank goodness for the Ferguson's dog! How many times had she used that poor pooch as her excuse to go outside and talk to Lee? She remembered how wonderful it felt to run into his arms, how good the kiss tasted as their lips hungrily found each other. A heavy pit began to form in Amanda's stomach. Would they ever share a kiss like that again? Would she be able to find him in time? She tried to push those thoughts from her mind and focus on getting to the agency. She swiftly got up from the table and put her tea cup into the dishwasher. A quick "BEEP! BEEP!" came from the driveway. The cab was here waiting to take her to the agency. Amanda grabbed her purse and left the house, determined not to return without Lee by her side.

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Lee began to feel like he was falling. His body jumped trying to catch itself from the free fall over the cliff. Suddenly, Lee was no longer in his car. He no longer could see anything but blackness. Gone was the fantasy world that was alive in his mind. He was starting to become aware of his own body and the sounds that were happening around him. His heart was pounding and the air felt thick and hard to breathe. What was happening to him? He could hear voices arguing. They sounded like they were underwater. It was difficult to make out what they were saying. He could only get bits and pieces.

"You insisted on using this drug…reacting very negatively…..nothing I can do"

Lee felt his body gasping for air as a cold sweat broke out across his forehead. He felt something being placed over his nose and mouth and soon he was breathing more easily. The voices were becoming clearer. He could now tell that they belonged to a man and a woman.

"..fully awake in another five minutes or so then he's all yours."

Lee heard the man's voice say followed by what sounded like the shutting of a door. His head was so foggy. He wanted to open his eyes but couldn't. His eyelids felt like they each weighed a hundred pounds. His limbs felt equally as heavy. He could tell that he was lying on a bed of sorts but he couldn't seem to move. Lee wondered if the drug they gave him was some type of paralytic. He then felt the bed move a bit and it felt like someone had sat down on the bed beside him. A hand then began to softly touch his face. His heart leapt as he felt the touch. "Amanda!" he shouted in his head. "Amanda! Thank God that you are here."

"You may not be all mine yet, Scarecrow. But you soon will be."

Lee's heart sank at the sound of the voice. That wasn't Amanda's voice. Who was it? Who was sitting beside him on the bed? He tried desperately to fight through the fog in his mind. The voice…it was familiar. Who was it? She spoke again.

"I've waited a very long time for this moment, Lee. To get you alone again."

She began stroking his hair and brushing it away from his face. Lee tried to move his arm to grab her hand as she touched him, but he still couldn't move. Who was this sitting beside him?

"I never did get you into my bed. Such a pity. I wanted to wait until after I had seduced you to get the Stemwinder frequencies from you, but Grandfather was too impatient."

"Stemwinder?" he thought to himself. The images of his fantasy anniversary dinner with Amanda began to flood his mind. The waitress…Sonja Chenkko! "That voice is Sonja Chenkko!" he said to himself. "Damn it! Where the hell am I? I gotta get out of here."

THe oxygen mask was removed from Lee's face. It was then that Lee felt Sonja's mouth on his as she kissed him in his unconscious state.

"MMM…they taste as good as I remember. It's a shame that you went and married Amanda King. But I am not worried. She is just a temporary obstacle. Once I get the information I need out of you, then you and I will be able to begin our next phase of our lives together. The Germans have paid me a lot of money to find out how many agents you sent over to Berlin and why they are there. I'll get it out of you, Lee. Then we begin the reprograming of your mind. That Phantagorum is a wonderful drug. Your mind will be like putty in my hands, ready to be reshaped to my design. You won't even remember Amanda King once I am done with you."

Lee listened to every word that Sonja had to say to him. The things she was saying sickened him. She grabbed his right hand and held it up to her cheek. She began kissing the inside of his palm. Lee wanted nothing more than to grab his gun and point it straight at her head. Suddenly, he felt the thumb of his left hand move as he thought about grabbing the gun. He tried to make his thumb move again. It worked! He was regaining control of his motor skills. Lee felt that this was a revelation that was best kept to himself. At least for the time being.

**SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK**

Amanda paid the cab driver and asked him to let her out a block or so from the Georgetown entrance to the agency. She began walking in the opposite direction of the agency until she saw the driver safely away from her line of sight. Walking as briskly as she could, she headed for the agency. Once she arrived, she used her key to open the door. It was too early for Mrs. Marsten to be there. She pressed the button to the elevator and tapped her foot until the elevator doors opened. Pushing the coats aside, she got on board and pressed the button for the bullpen.

The moment the doors opened again, Amanda was off and almost sprinting towards Lee's office where she hoped to find some good news awaiting her. Alas, all she found was an exhausted looking Francine and Billy.

"Amanda? What are you doing here? Didn't we send you home?" Billy asked.

"Ah, yeah you did. But that was last night. And now I'm back to find Lee. So, what'd ya got?"

Francine and Billy both checked their watches. They both were in shock that it was already morning…albeit still early.

"Amanda, did you sleep at all last night? Wouldn't it have been better for you to stay home and get some more rest? We'll call you the moment that something turns up." Billy said as he looked compassionately into Amanda's sad eyes.

"I did sleep some last night and no, Sir…I don't think it would be better for me to be at home. I need to be here finding Lee. I'm sure that you have both realized that we are now on day 3 of Lee missing."

Amanda took off her coat and threw it over the back of the chair followed by her purse. Francine began to say something to Amanda but Billy waved her off. He had never seen such a determined look in her face before. He knew that no amount of coaxing was going to get her to slow down and rest until Lee was found. Amanda plopped down in the chair opposite Francine.

"OK, Francine…tell me what you have found. Start at the beginning."

Just then, Beaman came in through the door with the list Francine had given him earlier in hand.

"Amanda! I didn't expect to see you back here so soon. How….how did you get here?" Beaman asked.

"Cab. What have you got there?"

"This? This is a list of everyone that was in the building at the time that Lee arrived the last, uh…the last time we saw him."

Beaman tried to catch himself and not sound insensitive to Amanda's feelings. She appreciated the gesture but still winced at the words "Last time". She really hoped that it wasn't the last time anyone would see him.

"May I see that?" Amanda read over the list. "There are at least 50 names on this list. None of them saw Lee?"

"Well the security guard saw him when he checked in that morning, but no one seems to have seen him after that. Unless you have found out differently, Beaman?" Francine asked.

"Unfortunately not."

Amanda thought for a moment. "What do the agency tapes show?"

Billy chimed in. "No sign of him in the halls."

"What about entering the building?"

"Yes, there is footage of him entering through the side garage entrance."

"But no sign of him leaving?"

"No, Amanda. No sign of him leaving. Not from any of the exits." Francine said.

"Not even anything suspicious looking." Beaman said. "I reviewed the tapes a little while ago."

Amanda got up from her chair and began pacing as she bit her thumb nail. "You're sure that there is absolutely NO sign of him ANYWHERE in the building? There are a lot of floors and a lot of cameras."

"Amanda, we have looked through ALL of the tapes. There is absolutely no sign of Lee at all." Billy said with a heaviness to his voice. "We cannot figure out how they got Lee out of the building without it being caught on at least one of the cameras."

Amanda stopped pacing and began to smile. Francine looked at her very perplexed as to why Amanda would be smiling.

"Well then there can only be one answer then."

"What answer, Amanda?" Francine questioned.

"Isn't it obvious? I can't believe we didn't see it before!" Amanda was now smiling ear to ear.

"What, Amanda? What? What is so obvious?"

"Francine! He's here! He's somewhere here in the agency!"

To be continued…..


	6. Chapter 6

Francine, Billy and Beaman all looked at Amanda with confusion.

"Amanda? What do you mean he's here in the agency? Don't you think we would have seen him or SOMEBODY would have seen him if he was here right under our noses?"

Francine began to sound like the old Francine of 5-years ago: the one that was always condescending and mean to Amanda. They were all on edge. They were all worried about Lee, frustrated that they didn't even know where to look and running on fumes due to lack of sleep. Billy saw a look in Amanda's eyes that scared him a bit and it was focused on Francine. He quickly interceded.

"Amanda, what makes you think that he's here?"

"Well, think about it. We have footage of him arriving, the security guard downstairs saw him. After that, there is NO sign of him what so ever. He couldn't have left the building without at least ONE of the cameras catching a glimpse of him and from what you all say there is none. And let's face it our security is pretty darn good here. It's what we do!"

Francine was quick to speak up.

"But Amanda, there are lots of places here in the agency that have NO cameras. It's not like he would be seen every single second he's in the building."

"Uh-huh! Exactly! But there ARE cameras at every EXIT!"

"Amanda, if what you're suggesting is true, then he would have had to have been grabbed…"

"By someone that works within the agency", Billy said as he finished her thought.

Amanda nodded. Billy looked as if he was going to be sick. Francine and Beaman had doubt written all over their faces.

"Come on, Amanda! Don't you think it's a bit far fetched?"

"No, Francine! I don't. Do YOU have a better idea? Doesn't it make perfect sense that someone that works here would know where all the cameras were? Where they could take Lee and not be seen? It makes perfect sense to me."

Francine couldn't argue with Amanda's logic on this one, much to her dismay. She sat down in the chair behind Lee's desk and let out an exasperated sigh. Speechless, she looked to Billy for his opinion. No one in the room spoke. The silence hung heavily in the air. Billy paced back and forth for a few moments thinking about Amanda's theory. Beaman pulled up a chair and took a seat next to Francine. Amanda could no longer take the silence.

"Sir! Don't you think we ought to get a plan in place to look for Lee now that we know where he is?"

"That's just it, Amanda! We still don't know where he is! He might be in the agency but then again, he might not!"

"Well it's more to go on then we had before. I'm going to start looking for him. I would love some help, but if you don't want to help, please understand that I'm looking for him anyway."

Amanda turned on her heel and exited Lee's office through the connecting door that led to her office. Amanda knew that she was right about Lee's where abouts. She could feel it in her gut. Pulling out her desk chair that had been neatly tucked away before she left last night, Amanda took a seat and closed her eyes for a moment. She took a few deep breaths and exhaled them slowly, trying to breathe out all of the built up tension and frustration she was holding inside. She could feel angry tears wanting to come but she pushed them aside. She had made a promise to herself this morning that there would be no tears today-only determination to find Lee. She opened her eyes and sat up in her chair.

"_Ok, Amanda! Think! Where would be the best place to start? The beginning of course is always the best place to start. I gotta go to the garage where Lee's car is parked and follow his path."_

Amanda felt a renewed sense of conviction. She took her keys out of her pocket and fumbled with them for a moment until she found the right key. She slid the key into the lock of her desk drawer and turned it releasing the tumblers. Slowly, she slid the drawer open and looked at what lay inside: her gun. She hadn't touched _her_ gun since she used it to kill Ekaterina. Dr. Pfaff sent her for target practice with Leatherneck, but she used one of the agency guns, not hers. She stared at it for a moment or two, and then slowly reached for it. She inhaled sharply upon feeling the cool metal of the weapon's grip. Wrapping her hand around it, she pulled the gun from the drawer and placed it on the desk. Next, she retrieved the ammunition and placed the box next to the gun. Amanda stared intently at the two on the desk.

"Amanda?"

Amanda jumped at Billy's voice. She was so focused on her own thoughts that she didn't even hear him come into her office.

"Sorry, Amanda. I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's ok. I was lost in my own thoughts I guess."

"We have been discussing your theory and we think that it's worth checking out. " Billy said with a gentle tone to his voice.

Amanda breathed a sigh of relief and gave Billy a gentle smile.

"I am very glad to hear that, Billy."

"Francine is looking through Lee's open files again. Beaman is headed back down to the videos…again…..to see if there is absolutely anything out of the ordinary that we may have missed."

"Good…well I was about to go down to the garage and retrace Lee's steps from when he got here that morning. "

"OK, that is actually what I was going to suggest. Just one thing: be careful who you talk to. If he is here and it's one of us in the agency, you may be in danger, too if they think that you are on to them."

"Got it!"

Amanda stood up from her desk chair and grabbed her gun. She stared at it in her hand for a brief moment.

"Amanda, the first time I had to shoot someone and take their life, it was very painful….life-changing. Took me a little while to get back in the saddle so to speak. You sure that you're up to this…alone?"

Amanda inhaled deeply and held her breath for a moment. Nodding she slowly released the air and tried to crack a smile.

"Yes…..yes I am more than up for this. We need to bring him home. He has saved me more times than I like to recall. Now, it's my turn to return the favor."

"OK, we'll rendezvous back here in 2-hours. Call me on Lee's line before that if you come up with anything."

**SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK**

Lee could feel his body slowly coming back to life. He felt like he had the worst hangover imaginable. His head was pounding and his mouth was like cotton. Sonja stayed sitting beside him on the bed for a while, gently stroking his hair and humming to herself.

"_She's really gone off the deep-end, hasn't she?"_ Lee said to himself.

Finally, he felt her get up from the bed. Lee opened his eyes the tiniest crack to try and get an idea of where he was and what was going on. The room was virtually empty except for the bed on which he was lying, a small card table and two brown folding chairs. The walls were a light blue, or they were at one time. There were stains in places and you could see the outlines of where dirt had settled around pictures long gone from the walls. Lee took a few moments to take stock of his body. He didn't think he was restrained in any way. His hands definitely were not handcuffed or tied; his legs didn't seem shackled in any way. He was afraid to try and move them too much, lest he give away his awake status to Sonja.

Lee heard the door open and heavy footsteps enter the room. He tried to see the person's face but couldn't from the angle at which he was lying. The two captors quickly approached the bed. Lee shut his eyes and continued to keep up the ruse.

"Well?" Sonja stated very matter of fact.

"Well what?" Walter replied.

"Why isn't he awake? You said 5 minutes, it's been at least 20."

"I told you that the Phantogorum wasn't fully tested yet. It may be taking him longer to come out of it, or as I said before, it could have turned his brain to complete mush."

The Dr. sat on the edge of the bed and began to take Lee's pulse. Lee had to concentrate hard to not flinch or react when he was touched. Next, the Dr. opened his eyelids and shone a flashlight into each eye. Lee remained as comatose as possible.

"His vitals seem normal. I don't know why he's not awake. We just need to continue to wait and see."

"That's not GOOD ENOUGH!" Sonja screamed at him.

Walter looked at Sonja as she was having her tantrum and walked out of the room. Sonja followed him. Lee took a moment to open his eyes and scan the room fully. No windows, only one door and absolutely no idea what was waiting for him in the room he couldn't see. Escape was going to be difficult. He attempted to sit up but found he couldn't. His whole body felt like it weighed a ton. It was taking every bot of effort to even lift his head off the pillow.

"_Oh no! This is definitely not good!"_

Sonja attempted to follow Walter out into the hall. The quickly turned around and shoved her back into the room.

"Where the hell do you think that you're going? You're not setting one toe outside of this room. Don't forget WHERE you are."

"You're not leaving until Scarecrow is awake!"

"I'm going to the infirmary to see if there is something there I can take to give to him. If you are seen outside of this room, it's over for the both of us. It won't matter if Lee wakes up or not because you'll be dead! Now get BACK into the room and just wait for me to come back!"

Walter slammed the door in Sonja's face. She let out a grunt of frustration. Lee could hear her returning into the room. He needed to come up with a plan and fast.

**SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK**

Amanda unlocked the driver's side door of Lee's Corvette. She opened the door and slid into the driver's seat. Without realizing it, she deeply inhaled breathing in the scent of Lee's cologne. It was both comforting and heartbreaking at the same time. Amanda quickly regained her composure and looked in the car for something out of the ordinary. Lee tended to keep his car as neat as a pin so something out of place would be obvious. Amanda often wondered why he could keep his car immaculate but had trouble putting his dirty socks in the hamper. There were no papers anywhere in the car. She opened the glove compartment to see if any clues were stashed away in there. She was not prepared for what she found in there. Amanda slowly reached into the cramped compartment and retrieved an envelope with her name written in Lee's hand across the front. Carefully, she ripped it open and pulled out the card within. It was an anniversary card. Amanda opened the card and found a hand-written message inside:

"_Amanda-I never thought happiness like this was possible. You have brought so much joy and happiness to my life. You are my love, my life, my world. How did I get so lucky? All my love-Lee"_

Amanda quickly returned the card to the envelope and put it back into the glove compartment. She had to keep focused and as detached as possible. Amanda swallowed hard and realized that there was nothing in the car that would provide her with any clues. She stepped out of the car and locked the door.

Walking towards the garage entrance, she scanned the structure for any clues….anything at all. She didn't spend much time looking because she knew he was seen entering the building. That is where he next clue might be. She used her passkey to open the door. She hated this entrance. The lighting was poor and it always seemed dirty and dingy to her, not to mention the horrendous shade of yellow that the walls were painted accompanied by screaming yellow floor tiles. As she walked down the corridor towards the security guard, she began to chuckle to herself.

"_Well, I guess I have to follow the yellow brick road to find my Scarecrow!"_

Amanda continued down the hall until she found herself face to face with Tim, the security guard.

"Good morning, Mrs. Stetson! You're here awfully early, aren't you?"

"Oh, well you know me, Tim. I am a morning person. Couldn't wait to get here and start my day. Tim, mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"Nope, not at all."

"I know that Agent Beaman and Agent Desmond have already talked to you about the morning 3 days ago when Lee came in this way. What was Lee's mood like that day? Can you remember?"

"He seemed fine. Nothing special."

"Did he say anything to you? Talk to anyone that you could see?"

"All he said was good morning. That was about it."

"Do you remember where he went after that?"

"Yeah, he headed over to the elevator."

"And you didn't see him with anyone?"

"Nope. Not a soul"

"Ok….thanks, Tim."

Amanda began walking to the elevator.

"Oh, Mrs. Stetson? I did hear him say good morning to someone that was already ON the elevator when the doors opened. Does that help?"

Amanda turned and smiled.

"Yes, that helps very much!"

Amanda bee lined it to the elevator and pushed the button.

"_Who was it that Lee spoke to on the elevator and what did they do with Lee?" _

She thought that she should share this information with Billy right away.

**SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK**

Sonja stormed back into the room where Lee was being held and slammed the door. The noise took Lee by surprise and he jumped in his "sleep". Sonja immediately took notice of his response to the door slam and rushed over to his bedside grabbing his hand and calling his name.

"Lee? Lee can you hear me? Wake up! It's time to wake up!"

"_Damn it! This was not how I wanted this to go."_ Lee said to himself. He was no longer sure how he wanted to let the situation play out. Maybe it was better if he allowed her to see that he was awake. Lee was still unsure how much control he had over his body. His limbs still felt heavy but were improving. How could he "wake up" and not be vulnerable while he waited for his body to wake up? He had an idea.

Sonja continued so gently shake him in an effort to awaken him. Lee slowly began to open his eyes and looked into the green eyes of his prison guard.

"Lee! You're awake! It's about time!"

Lee looked up at Sonja with a purposeful confused look on his face.

"Lee? Who is Lee? Who are you?" Lee said in reply to Sonja.

"Wh-what? Lee-Lee Stetson. That's your name."

Lee attempted to sit up which he was able to do but with some difficulty. He used the wall to support himself as he again questioned Sonja.

"I'm sorry but I have no idea what you are talking about. I don't know anyone named Lee Stetson and I don't know who you are. Can you please tell me where I am?"

Sonja was confused and beginning to get a bit panicky. The Germans had gone to a lot of trouble to train her and the price she had to pay was very high. If she couldn't get the information they required, she was as god as dead. She had to get the information about the agents in Germany and she was running out of time to get it. If he didn't know his name, he surely wouldn't know anything about the agency. Was the Dr. right? Had the drug turned his brain to mush? The panic began to take over. She sat down on the edge of the bed and grabbed Lee by the shoulders.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW ANYONE NAMED LEE STETSON? YOU'RE LEE STETSON!"

"I'm sorry but I don't know what you're talking about!"

Lee could see that the amnesia charade was going to work better than he had hoped. It was going to be very easy to push her off balance. She looked deeply into his eyes. Her expression was full of hatred and venom. She began to tighten her grip around his shoulders and pulled him closer to her.

"Who do you think you are? What is your name?"

"Well my name is….uh…..I can't remember! Why can't I remember my name?" Lee grew his eyes wide with feigned fear. "Who are you and why am I here?"

Sonja pulled her Lee as close to her as possible without actually kissing him. They were nose to nose and lip to lip.

"You don't remember me, my darling? I am your wife, Sonja…..Sonja Stetson."

She pulled Lee into a deep kiss that was as full of anger as it was passion.

"_Damn! I didn't see that coming!_" Lee lamented as he pulled back from Sonja. _"Time for plan B…whatever that is."_

**SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK**

"_Hurry up! Hurry up! HURRY UP!"_ Amanda screamed inside her head as she anxiously waited for the elevator. Finally the elevator arrived and the door opened. Amanda quickly stepped on, not taking note that there were other people already on the elevator. She pushed the button for the bullpen floor and stepped back, almost knocking over the man standing behind her.

"Amanda! How fortuitous that we meet again, at the elevator no less!"

Amanda quickly realized that she was not alone. She spun around and saw that the car was occupied with 3 other people: Agent Cane from the international division, Agent Smythe from transportation and once again, Agent Corey from records. Amanda tried not to tense up when she saw Agent Corey. He was a nice man, about 10 years older than Amanda, very tall in stature and very socially awkward. He seemed to have an affinity for Amanda. He loved to talk to Amanda and she was too kind to cut him off. She didn't have time for a conversation like that today.

"Oh! Gosh! I am sorry Agent Corey my mind is somewhere else. I didn't even see you behind me."

"No worries, my dear. And please…call me Walter."

"Oh, sure…thanks…Walter"

The elevator stopped and Agents Cane and Corey exited the elevator. Amanda politely smiled and nodded as she moved out of the way for them to get off after which she promptly pressed the button for her floor again. She half thought about getting off at that floor and running down the flights of stairs, but the doors were already closing.

"You know, Amanda….while I was fixing the files last night, I came across something very interesting that I think you should see."

"Oh really? What is it?"

"Something I know you have been looking for for a little while now."

"Well, it's going to have to wait. I am in the middle of something very important. In fact, I am on my way up to see Billy Melrose right now."

Agent Corey walked over to the elevator control panel, his large stature pressing Amanda up against the wall, and pushed the emergency stop button. Amanda's eyes grew wide and showed the confusion and angst on her face as Agent Corey began to press his body closer to Amanda.

"What are you doing? Agent Corey….."

"I think that you will want to see what I have to show you….right now. And no, that wasn't a request."

**SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK**

Lee pushed Sonja away the best he could. With each passing moment, his strength was returning but he in no way could make a run for it. Not to mention he had no idea where he was. Where would he be running to?

"What's the matter, darling? Don't you remember all those passionate kisses that we have shared over the years? You look at me as if I am a stranger. I assure you, I'm not."

"I don't think that you are my wife. I don't think I have a wife. Please, where am I?"

Sonja leaned back a bit, giving Lee some space. She took his hands in hers and looked tenderly into his eyes. Her touch made Lee's flesh crawl.

"Lee, you are absolutely a happily married man. Your name is Lee Stetson and you are safe here, with me. As to where we are, just know that we somewhere where no one will find us."

"Are people looking for us?"

"What makes you say that?"

"Because you said where no one will find us."

"Well…..that is a matter of speech. It's just you and me. No one else is important."

"Can I please have something to drink? Water?"

Sonja looked at Lee for a moment and then stood up without saying a word. He watched her walk over to the water cooler in the corner and dispense him a small cup of water.

"Here. Drink this slowly."

Lee slowly sipped the cool water. It tasted so good. His mouth was so dry. He tried to figure out how long he had been here….where ever here was. He held the cup in his left hand and scratched his face with his right. He could tell from the growth on his face that it had been at least a few days since he last shaved. Lee decided to try another tactic.

"Sonja? I am not feeling so well. I think I might be sick. Can you please take me to a bathroom?"

Sonja looked at Lee for a moment. Her face showed no sympathy…if anything, Lee thought he detected a bit of anger at the request.

"Why don' you just lay back and try and rest for a moment?"

Lee shifted on the bed. Moving was easier than it was a few moments ago. This was a promising sign. Sonja pulled one of the chairs over to the side of the bed. She sat down, crossed her legs and began to talk with Lee.

"Better? Lee, I know you are a bit confused right now but you need to trust me. We are married: partners in life…and at work."

"Work?"

"Yes…work. We are federal agents…..you and I. We are working on a very important case that involves agents being sent to Germany. Do you remember?"

"Federal agents? I'm not a federal agent! What the hell are you talking about?"

Lee took another sip of his water, his eyes examining her face for even the slightest change in expression.

"Yes….yes you are a federal agent and so am I. And you have some vital information about some agents in Germany. We need to get them out as soon as possible and only you know where they were sent. It is very important that you try to remember."

"I think that is something that I would remember! Personally, I think you are a bit nuts, Lady."

Lee could see Sonja becoming more and more angry. This was exactly what he was hoping for. Her eyes became firey and her mouth became tight and twisted. Suddenly, They heard voices coming from the room that was beyond the door. Sonja looked surprised. Lee listened more closely. It was the voice of a man and a woman. Sonja was very alarmed at the voices. She immediately rose and opened the door. Lee tried to see who was in the other room. For a brief moment, he swore that he caught a glimpse of Amanda.

**SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK**

"Agent Corey…what are you doing? Why are we in this…..storage room?"

"Not a storage room, Amanda. A quasi bomb shelter. It was built when the agency was originally built. It was never used for the purpose it was designed, obviously. Filing cabinets were placed in front of the door, boxes piled up on top of the cabinets. It became virtually undetectable. Over the years, it was simply forgotten about, until the renovation projects began about 6 months ago. I was researching the blue prints for the bullpen renovation project when I ran across the design for this floor. I noticed this room on the blue prints so one night I checked it out. And-voila! Instant secret room within a secret agency. Brilliant! Don't you think?"

"But why did you bring me down here? At gun point no less?"

"Well, I need you for insurance. I am sure you have figured out by now that I have Lee….or at least I am responsible for getting Lee down here. Someone else actually did the capturing of him. His interrogation is not going well. I told her that she probably wouldn't be able to crack him and now, well with all the drugs we've given him, who knows if he will even survive. I need you to get out of here…..alive."

"Where's Lee?"

"Here….actually…there." he said indicating the closed door.

"What have you done to him?"

"What had to be done. The Russians have paid me a lot of money over the years for secrets. Lee was a necessary…sacrifice. A means to an end. You, my dear weren't even supposed to be here. Ekaterina was supposed to have killed you. DO you know how easy it was to feed you all that false information on her and lead you to think that it was SAFE walking into her house? Like taking candy from a baby."

"You? You set me up? But…but…..you've worked for the agency for years! Why are you doing this?"

Corey smirked as he waved his gun tauntingly at Amanda.

"It's true that I have worked for the agency for a long time. And honestly, I really love my country. But a few years ago, the Russians made me an offer I couldn't refuse. I never gave them anything really important. A few codes here, a few names there. But this latest job with the Germans….that was some serious money. I knew it would be my last job before I would be found out. I plan on being out of the country before they find Lee's body and you….well you're going to walk me out the front door just incase anything should go wrong. I regret that you will not live to see your child born."

Sonja pulled the door shut behind her. Fury was oozing from every pore of her body.

"Corey! What the HELL do you think you are doing bringing HER here?"

Amanda turned around at the sound of the door closing behind her. She was shocked at the woman that she saw standing before her!

"Sonja Chenkko?" Amanda gasped!

"Hello Amanda…. I am making progress with Stetson. He is finally awake. His kisses are as sweet as I remembered them to be."

Sonja smiled at Amanda knowing that her comments were slicing into Amanda's heart like a thousand knives.

"What did you do to him?"

"Oh…..I wouldn't worry about it if I were you, Amanda. He doesn't remember you. For the time being, he doesn't even know who he is, but that will change. And when he does get his memory back, he will know ME as his wife….not you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Sonja! Did you get what you needed out of Stetson yet?" Corey bellowed.

"Not. Yet! Now shut the hell up so I can get back to him! Amanda…I'll be sure to give Lee a kiss for you!"

Amanda began to lunge for Sonja but Corey prevented her from attacking the Russian by waving his gun in her face.

Sonja kept her face on Amanda as she reached for the doorknob. Suddenly, the door burst open sending Sonja flying across the room. Lee ran into the room and tackled Corey. Seeing Sonja on the floor, Amanda kicked her in the side of the head and then drew her gun and placed it against her temple. Lee punched Corey several times knocking him unconscious. Corey never knew what hit him. Lee stood up and saw Amanda holding her gun against Sonja. Sonja was pleading with Amanda to let her go. Slowly, Amanda eased back the hammer of her gun. She was breathing heavily and tears were rolling down her cheeks.

Lee grabbed Amanda from behind and carefully removed the gun from her hands.

"I got her, Amanda. She's not worth killing. I got her…I got her."

Amanda turned around and saw a scruffy Lee standing before her. She could hardly believe her eyes. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight. Lee hugged her with his right arm, while maintaining the gun with his left and his sites on Sonja.

"Oh, Lee! I thought you were dead!"

"No….I'm ok. Where the hell are we?"

"We're in a bomb shelter in the basement of the agency."

"In the agency? I've been in the agency this whole time? Amanda, go call someone to came get rid of these two and get them out of my sight."

Amanda quickly left the room and ran down the hall to the nearest phone calling Billy that was waiting up in Lee's office.

Lee sat down on the edge of the coffee table that was in the room. Sonja remained on the floor. The side of her head was bleeding where Amanda had kicked her.

"So…amnesia, huh? Nice trick. You know, you still could change your mind and let me go. We could run away together…..as husband and wife."

"Sonja, even if I really did have amnesia, there is no way I would ever believe that I was married to someone like you. You disgust me in every way possible."

"I seem to remember a time a few years ago when I turned you on. Has so much changed?"

"You were never anything more to me than an assignment. Stop filling your head with ridiculous delusions."

"Speaking of delusions, have fun trying to figure out what events of the last few days were real and what was _imaginary_. That Phantogorum is a wonderfully playful drug. I am only sorry that I didn't have more time with you and it. I had so many fun scenarios in mind to create in your brain. Guess I'll have to wait until next time."

Francine burst through the door with Amanda and 3 other agents in tow. Francine looked at the unconscious man on the floor and then at Lee and Amanda.

"Agent Corey?" she said.

"Seems that he has been working with the Russians for the past few years now. We have ourselves a major security breach. I'll fill you in on what he told me in a little while. In the mean time, I want to get Lee to the infirmary." Amanda replied.

"Go on. We'll cover these two."

Lee uncocked the gun and put it in his pocket. As he stood up, he felt a little woosy and began to wobble. Amanda quickly put her arm around him to help steady him.

"I got you, Sweetheart….and I'm never letting you go."

They both smiled at each other as they walked out the door.

**SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK**

"So….once this saline I.V. is through, you can take him home, Amanda. And please make sure that he stays off his feet for at least the next 24 hours. That Phantogorum can have some nasty side effects. Surprisingly, most of them are with balance issues and not psychological issues. Pretty ironic considering it is a drug used to alter the psyche itself."

"Look, Doc…..I really feel fine. I don't think that….."

"Don't worry, Dr. Johns…..I will make sure that he follows your instructions to the T. Do me a favor and write them down so I have proof of what you have said!"

"You got it, Amanda! Come give me a holler when the I.V. bag runs out."

Dr. Johns left the room leaving Amanda and Lee alone.

"You know, you really scared me this time, Scarecrow. 3 days….no sign of you. Not one peep. And to think the whole time you were in the agency!"

Lee picked up Amanda's hand as she sat by his bedside and placed a gentle kiss beside her wedding rings.

"This was not the way I had planned on spending our anniversary. I had a whole trip planned to whisk you away to someplace you have told me that you have always wanted to visit."

"Italy."

"How….how did you know? NO ONE knew!"

"Jamie spilled the beans. He didn't mean to….oh Lee, that would have been wonderful but just having you safe is the only thing I need. "

"I did get you a card, too you know!"

Amanda smiled.

"Yeah, I know! I read it. You are my love, my life and my world, too Lee."

Amanda stood up and leaned over her husband kissing him passionately on the lips. She rested her forehead on his as he rubbed the back of her neck and whispered "I love you" softly in a low breathy tone. Amanda stood back up as she wiped tears from her eyes.

"Well, looks like your I.V. bag is empty. Let's get the Dr. and get you home."

"Yeah, let's get out of here!"

"And let me remind you, buster that I am in charge of you while you are home for the next 24-hours. You are going to get your rest and stay off your feet. Got it?"

"A-man-da! 24-hours of bed rest? Really? I am not staying in bed that long."

Amanda looked at him with a seductive grin.

"Really? Too bad. I cleared my calendar and was planning on spending those 24 hours in bed with you. Guess all those plans I had of things to do to pass the time are now just going to go to waste. But your probably right...you probably don't need to …"

"Whoah! Wait a minute!" Lee took Amanda's hand and pulled her on top of him. He brushed a stray lock of hair out of her eyes. "Maybe 24 hours worth of best rest won't be that bad!"

"Who said anything about _resting_, Scarecrow?"

Lee wrapped his arms around Amanda and gave her the three days he had not seen her worth of kisses in one long, passionate, deep kiss. When they both finally broke apart, breathless, Lee cupped Amanda's face in his hands and said "Happy Anniversary, Mrs. Stetson!"

"Happy Anniversary, Sweetheart."


End file.
